Home
by The ShadowEye
Summary: During the Giant War, Percy made several new friends. But that doesn't mean he isn't excited to see his old friends when he finds himself back home. One-shot.


**Am I the only one disappointed with how Heroes of Olympus ignored older characters? I understand that the plot wouldn't allow for a lot of appearances, but I still felt like it was missing something...**

 **If you're a fan of Clarisse, I have a new story coming out soon that you might enjoy. The title, as of right now, is "Found", and it takes place between Sea of Monsters and Battle of the Labyrinth. It will be six chapters long with an epilogue.**

 **Story takes place right after Blood of Olympus**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or any related properties.**

 **Enjoy :)**

They found them sitting on the beach, Annabeth's head on Percy's shoulder.  
They both were battle worn, with ripped clothes and dark circles under their eyes. Neither had had a break since the Argo II had landed, but she didn't care about their breaks, not when they hadn't even said hello.  
"Hello to you too," Rachel said, crossing her arms. She glared down on them both. She could feel Clarisse's pointed look, even without it be pointed at her. Grover was undoubtedly less intimidating but Rachel figured she and Clarisse made up for it.  
"Rachel!" Percy said. He jumped on his feet, and Annabeth followed suit. "Clarisse! Grover!"  
"Thanks for the role call," Clarisse grumbled as Rachel and Percy embraced.  
"How have you guys been? I feel like I haven't seen you in a year."  
"Half a year," Grover corrected. "A good deal of which we spent chasing after you."  
"What part of _stay put_ don't you understand?" Rachel questioned.  
"The stay part?" Percy replied.  
"It's definitely good to see you again," Annabeth added. "I was starting to feel like that quest was never going to end."  
"Same," Percy responded. "And after being gone for a whole six months."  
"What was Camp Jupiter like?" Rachel asked.  
"How long were you there? I could only sense you for a couple of weeks." Grover added.  
"Did the Romans give you good beating?" Clarisse questioned.  
"It was great, not long, and no," Percy answered.  
"The Romans didn't seem very friendly," Rachel commented.  
"Jason's pretty nice," Grover stated.  
"And I like that Frank kid."  
"Yeah, but Octavian?" Rachel pointed out.  
"They're not all like Octavian," Percy answered. "And Frank's pretty cool."  
"I can't believe you're finally back," Rachel said, and re-hugged Percy.  
"Yeah, is it just me or did this war seem shorter than the last?" Grover questioned. "Not that I'm complaining."  
"Gaia attacked quicker," Clarisse answered. "It took Kronos two years to be resurrected."  
"Oh about that," Annabeth cut in. "Did you hear how they finally raised Gaia?"  
"Annabeth..." Percy started.  
"How?" Rachel asked.  
"Percy's nosebleed."

Cleaning up was always a problem, but with the Romans it went a lot faster.  
Very few deaths on either side. Will was relieved he finally managed to get through a battle without one of his brothers dying on him. He could see relief on other counselors' faces as well - emotionally, this was had been a lot easier.  
Will probably shouldn't feel happy about Octavian dying, but he had attacked camp and for all Will cared, Octavian had it coming. Call him heartless, he didn't care.  
Leo, on the other hand, was a blow. Head counselors tended to bond, and with their cabins next to each other Will and Leo had quickly became friends. But now that was over.  
Speaking of head counselors, where the Hades was Percy?  
"Hey Katie," Will called. Earlier, cleanup had been a camp - or camps - effort, but now, only counselors remained.  
"Yes?" Katie replied.  
"Have you seen Percy? I haven't had a chance to talk to him."  
"He's probably down at the beach with Annabeth. Again."  
"You'd think he didn't want to see us."  
"I'm sure he's just tired. It's been a long summer for him."  
"It's been a long summer for five summers now."  
"Will."  
"I think I'm going to go bug him. Do you think you could finish cleaning up?" Katie hummed in response, and Will took that as a yes.

Percy flopped on his bed, exhausted. But he didn't want to go to sleep.  
Earlier, he had asked Chiron when he could go see his mom and Paul, only to be told he needed to stay until the Romans left. It was torture finally being back in New York and not being able to go hug his mom.  
The whole Roman thing was overwhelming him as well. Being the only Greek to have made a positive impression (Cecil being the only exception, and only with the Romans who hated Octavian), he played a major part in negotiations.  
Then there had been the whole cabin situation. Reyna had suggested that the Romans just build tents, like they've been trained to do, but several of the centurions decided (for some horrible reason) that it would be best for the alliance if the Romans slept in the cabins. Which was great, except:  
1\. Not all Roman gods have Greek equivalents  
2\. Legacies had to choose which cabin to be in, which wasn't unuasual for them but caused some fighting among the cabins  
3\. There were currently two Romans sleeping under the same roof as the Stolls  
4\. Reyna was having to share a room for the first time since she became praetor, and that wasn't pleasant for her roommates  
And Percy should have been exhausted from all of this. But he wasn't.  
Clarisse, Rachel, and Grover surprising him had been amazing. He missed all three of them, and getting to see them again was amazing. It felt just like old times.  
He had Iris-messaged his mom as well, and both of them had been crying by the end.  
Nico had seemed extra happy as well after showing Hazel his cool cabin design, and now the two were catching up on movies.  
Will, Katie, and the Stolls had all taken time out of the day to hunt him down say hello. Cabin eleven had even thrown a small party, which would have been nice if Percy hadn't been suspicious that the soda was stolen.  
So despite everything that had happened since winter, despite causing the apocalypse with a nosebleed, despite not being able to breath well anymore, despite Leo, despite this and that and that other thing, he was happy.  
He was home.


End file.
